Parkland community reacts to Jacksonville mass shooting

PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - Reaction to the mass shooting at a video game tournament in Jacksonville poured in from the Stoneman Douglas community, and for many of them, the tragedy brought back memories from the school massacre.

Sunday afternoon’s shooting, which left three dead, including the shooter, and 11 injured, took place at the Jacksonville Landing complex.

This most recent mass shooting has brought up raw emotions for Parkland parents.

Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter Jamie Guttenberg in the Feb. 14 shooting, shared his thoughts on this latest incident in a phone interview.

“Every time you read these stories and hear these stories, it brings you back to February 14th,” he said. “My heart breaks for families at the moment that are worrying that somebody who was supposed to come home won’t be.”

In a tweet, Guttenberg directly addressed Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who went to Jacksonville on Sunday night. Guttenberg referred to Florida as “the Gunshine State.”

Guttenberg also said he would like to contact the Jacksonville victims.

“I’d like to hopefully talk to some of those families, answer any questions that they have, let them know how my family got through it, how other families here got through it,” he said.

Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter Meadow Pollack in the Parkland massacre, also shared his thoughts.

“Your life is never the same. My life will never be the same for losing my daughter, but I’m put here trying to prevent it from happening again,” he said. “You’ve got to attack these things at a local level, and that’s where things get done, at a local level, in government.”

Speaking on the phone, MSD teacher Ashley Kurth shared how her thought process has changed.

“It is kind of not bringing my fears to fruition, but it’s confirming the fears that I have, that feeling that you just don’t feel safe anywhere,” she said.

Cameron Kasky, one of the founders of March For Our Lives, also reacted to the Jacksonville shooting on social media.

https://twitter.com/cameron_kasky/status/1033794111709618176

Fellow March For Our Lives founder Jaclyn Corin also took to Twitter to comment on the shooting.

Parkland parent Cindy Levine, whose son was a senior last year at Stoneman Douglas, had a message to those affected by the Jacksonville tragedy.

“We’re just starting to heal here, six months later. Don’t expect anything to happen overnight,” she said.

March For Our Lives Jacksonville also tweeted out their condolences to the Jacksonville victims.

Organizers with March For Our Lives Jacksonville said they are working on coordinating a response to this most recent mass shooting.

Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.